Update: May 15, 2025

Friends! Here’s what’s been going on!

1.) Cost Estimates Incoming - We are currently in-between architectural phases right now. In mid-March we officially wrapped up the “Schematic Design” phase of the process. Basically, this means that the biggest picture pieces of the puzzle are starting to feel settled: the basic layout of the new church, the principle architectural style and features, even some of the landscape design is starting to come into focus. The images many of you got to see at the Shrove Tuesday Architecture Workshop have changed very little since then.

Since mid-March, we have been on a scheduled break so that ICON is able to do some cost-estimate work on the design as it currently stands. We expect this to be finished by the end of June and based on the feedback, we will make adjustments to the design based on affordability and then officially outline a plan for what constitutes Phase 1 of construction.  We will seek to answer questions such as: Will we begin with just the new worship space? How close are we to being able to fund the parish hall as well? Then, in mid-summer, we will begin “Design Development.”

2.) In the meantime, Art! - There is plenty to do while we wait. Specifically, in the last few weeks, we have started to look for the right artist(s) who will partner with us to design some of the permanent artistic features of the new church. There is a long list of artistic features we have in mind (many of which are covered in the St. Mark’s Pilgrim Path document), from stained-glass windows, to possibly a painted dome, to mosaic’d floors, to sculptures in stone or metal, to liturgical garments and furnishings, to crosses and candles.

There’s an even longer list of artists whose work we admire and who we have on our list to investigate partnership with. We have already spoken with a small handful of world-class artists who have expressed enthusiasm for our project, and they’re from all over—spanning California to New York City to Denmark and even from our very own Austin, Texas. Stewarding this conversation will be the St. Mark’s Arts Committee, which consists of myself, Katie Yu, Kyle Trafton, Margarita Villarreal, and Jay Brown, along with guidance and leadership from Rick Archer (our lead architect) and Amanda Iglesias (our sacred space consultant). Our focus to start is finding the right artist to design the windows and possibly the dome, since these are both constituent of the architecture itself and will have the greatest overall effect on the read of the new space. Pray for this committee! Pray for the right partner!

3.) How’s the money part of all this going?

Here’s some quick facts!

• The good: A total of $2,410,751 has been received to date of $7,021,501 pledged.

• The less good: Approximately 38% of Capital Campaign pledges have not yet made any contributions.

• The great: About 22% of pledges have been fully paid!

• The also good: The remaining pledges—roughly 40%—are in progress, with most donors having contributed around 33% of their total pledge.

February ‘25 Campaign Update

December ‘24 Campaign Update

August ‘24 Campaign Update

Building Committee

Central Building Committee for Master Planning/Concept Design
Anna Bryan-Borja
Brenda White
Jay Brown

Worship Space Subcommittee
Nathan Jennings
Ross Ponder
Zoe Cordes Selbin
Mark Reed
Amanda Iglesias (Sacred Space Consultant)

Landscape Architecture Subcommittee
Michael Meigs
Al McKinney
Bill Kibler

Current Central Building Committee
Jim Wells
Brenda White
Joel Keifer

Music/Acoustical Subcommittee
Mark Reed
Zac Koons

Public Engagement Subcommittee
Lindsay Mullins
David Johns
Christian Llull

The St. Mark’s Pilgrim Path

Campaign Conclusion

Campaign Quick Facts:

• Amount committed: $7,046,501.47

• Number of Pledges: 182

• Average Pledge: $38,875

• Average Pledge (not counting $2M Challenge Gift): $27,980

• Median Pledge: $7,000

• Most Common Pledge (15 instances): $5,000

• Pledges from people outside our church community: 10

What Happens Now?

On the Building Front: We’re in the stage of the process with our architects called “Schematic Design.” In a few months we will have new ICON-considered renderings for the entire new campus design. These will give us a feel for what all the buildings will actually look like, both inside and out. After Schematic Desing comes Design Development (few months) and then Construction Documents (few more months). We are on track to break ground in 2026.

How You Can Participate: Nathan Jennings will be teaching a Sunday School class devoted to sacred architecture beginning on September 15 at 10 am in the Chapel. This is both an opportunity to learn and get oriented to this immense world, and also a context to brainstorm and contribute ideas that could make their way into our construction plans! Also you can pray for us.

What Happens to the Campaign? Our Building Communion Campaign is now on pause. It will continue to run silently in the background, as folks fulfill their pledged commitments (our Campaign Treasurer will send out quarterly statements) or add to their pledged commitments as circumstances allow. We are also planning on taking our fundraising efforts on the road beyond our church community. We are in the early stages of planning fundraising efforts within our Day School Community, our wider neighborhood community, and also with particular grant-making entities and patrons of the arts.

Small Groups! Our community has never been more invested in this church as they are right now. Why wait for a new building to allow that commitment to take material form in this world. We’re organizing St. Mark’s Small Groups this year. Sign up for one here. Folks will be grouped based on where they live and their life stage. These groups will meet anywhere from weekly to monthly and they will share food and share their lives with one another. These groups will build communion.

 I’m incredibly proud of you. I’m incredibly grateful to be your priest. -Fr. Zac

You Can Still Pledge!

OR

How We Got Here